• Hundreds of homeowners-to-be across Germany have been left in the lurch as builders go out of business.
• A jump in interest rates and material costs has seen twice as many developers file for insolvency over the last year than during the previous 12 months.
• The German government on Monday offered a new package of measures to help ease the pressure.
Valeriy Shevchenko felt like he made the purchase of his lifetime when he beat a queue of prospective buyers to secure a two-bedroom apartment in one of Berlin`s most popular districts.
Two years on, the 33-year-old`s housing dreams have come crashing down after the developer of his new home, Project Immobilien, went bankrupt.
Hit by a sudden jump in interest rates and raw material costs, twice as many developers have filed for insolvency over the last year than during the previous 12 months.
Like hundreds of homeowners-to-be across the country, Shevchenko found construction of his new home suddenly halted, as workers cleared out of the site where the concrete skeleton of the building stands with no windows.
`From the middle of August, the construction was frozen. The cabinets for the workers here, the crane in the middle, everything moved away,` said Shevchenko at the site, shellshocked by the setback.
With such scenes multiplying across the country, Chancellor Olaf Scholz`s government on Monday offered a new package of measures to help ease the pressure on builders and homebuyers.
They include a pledge to not toughen up energy standards that could prove costly for developers, while extending mortgage help to families and financing for renovation.
The construction sector voiced satisfaction with the package, with Tim-Oliver Mueller, president of German building lobby group HDB, saying that the measures were `more comprehensive than expected`.
For years, record-low interest rates and strong demand had spurred new projects and investment in Germany`s property market.
But a sharp rise in consumer prices as a consequence of Russia`s invasion of Ukraine has forced the European Central Bank to aggressively raise interest rates to curb inflation, drastically pushing up mortgage costs and in turn bringing down property prices as well as profit margins of building projects.
Builders are also suffering from higher raw material costs, a problem that had already begun during the pandemic but which has been accentuated by the Ukraine war.
`Investors no longer know

how to make certain projects profitable,` said Mueller.
In a sign of the crisis, developer giant Vonovia recently decided to put 60 000 projects on hold.
One in five property companies has reported cancelling building projects in August, while 11.9 percent face financing difficulties, according to a recent survey by economic research institute Ifo, which described the figures as unprecedented in 30 years.
Many of the halted projects are also well advanced, pushing buyers into dire financial straits.
In Berlin, investors of the Project Immobilien`s construction had already paid half of what is due.
`I`m not a rich person. My money is the fruit of my labour,` said Shevchenko, who had already paid up 250 000 euros (~R4.98 million) for the apartment he bought for half a million euros.
With no insurance purchased by the building company or the future homeowners, there is no financial protection against the sudden bankruptcy.
Their only hope now is to find someone else to take over the construction, or to finish it themselves.
`I never thought that something like that could happen in Germany,` said Marina Prakharchuk, 39, with tears in her eyes.
The Belarusian had paid up 175 000 euros for her 45-metre square apartment.
`All my savings are in there,` said the employee of a logistics company.
Beyond the investors left roofless by insolvent developers, the property crisis risks spiralling into a giant social crisis as the knock-on effects from the building slowdown crash into the rental market.
Scholz`s government had promised to build 400 000 homes a year to alleviate an endemic housing shortage made worse by burgeoning demand from an inflow of refugees and foreign workers.
But building permits have nose-dived 25 percent between January and June compared to a year ago.
Experts believe the sector will struggle to even hit 250 000 in new build approvals this year, while next year bodes no better with a forecast of under 200 000.
With fewer new housing stock coming on the market, rents are rising unabated, further eroding households` purchasing power.
`More affordable housing must be built in Germany so that young families and those who are looking for apartments can have a good chance of finding one,` said Scholz, after the crisis talks V.4994

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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